LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Kings jumped on a couple of early scoring chances and spent the rest of the night playing stellar defence. When a few shots broke through that defensive front, Jonathan Quick was there. The Kings won the Stanley Cup two years ago with that basic formula, and they can see it clicking again as they close in on another playoff run. Jeff Carter scored his 250th career NHL goal on a power play, Quick made 17 saves to remain unbeaten since the Olympic break, and the Kings beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 Monday night for their fifth straight victory. Jake Muzzin scored an early goal for the Kings, who have won four games in six days since the break to solidify their playoff position in the Pacific Division, 10 points ahead of fourth-place Vancouver. The Kings might not be the most eye-catching team in the NHL, but the back-to-back Western Conference finalists results are becoming increasingly attractive. "Were playing the way I expected us to play coming out of the break," said Justin Williams, who got an assist on Muzzins goal just 1:54 in by leading a rush. "Were playing hard and not giving up leads. We do need to capitalize on more of our chances, but its two points we need for playoff position." Los Angeles took an early lead and hung on through 35 closing minutes of scoreless hockey for its first home victory over the Canadiens since March 8, 2003. Quick put together another outstanding game for the Kings on the heels of his performance for the U.S. national team in Sochi, making a handful of big saves to beat the Canadiens for the first time in his career. With his 168th win, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner is just three behind Rogie Vachon for the Los Angeles franchise record. "The style that we play, those are the kind of games youre going to see more often than not," Quick said. "At times it was a little slow, but I thought we carried the game for the most part. We didnt give them many opportunities. It was the kind of game you want to play." The Kings followed up their 6-0 victory at Montreal on Dec. 10 with another solid performance against the Canadiens built around that defence. Los Angeles has allowed an NHL-low 134 goals, and Montreal couldnt crack the Kings defence except for P.K. Subbans fortunate deflection goal late in the first period. "We played against the best defensive team in the league, and that showed," Montreal coach Michel Therrien said. Peter Budaj stopped 20 shots for Montreal, which had won five of six. The Canadiens opened a four-game West Coast trip with their first regulation loss since Feb. 2 -- and a taste of the frustration felt by Los Angeles more frequent opponents. "We couldnt get much sustained pressure, and thats a big part of it," Montreal captain Brian Gionta said. "We got a lucky bounce on the one goal, but for the most part, we werent able to get to the net as freely as we wanted. Weve got to give them credit for that, but weve got to find ways to break through." Montreal put goalie Carey Price on injured reserve with an apparent groin injury before the game, eight days after he posted a shutout in Canadas gold medal-winning victory over Sweden in Sochi. Budaj has started every game since the break, but Price might be able to play in Wednesdays game at NHL-leading Anaheim. Although Los Angeles dominated possession early, the Canadiens tied it late in the period when Quick blocked Subbans long shot, and the puck ricocheted off Jarret Stoll and into Quicks net. Carter put the Kings back ahead early in the second period, putting Anze Kopitars pass into the top corner of Budajs net with a slick wrist shot for his 22nd goal of the season. "The first 10 minutes, they certainly were coming fast, and we didnt have an answer for it," Montreal forward Brendan Gallagher said. "At the end, we had our chances and started to create stuff, but they are a good defensive team and they dont give up a lot." NOTES: Montreal visited Staples Center for the first time since Dec. 3, 2011. ... Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka and rising star Eugenie Bouchard, a Montreal-area native, both attended the game. The BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., began Monday with qualifying play. ... Stoll played in his 700th NHL game. Scottie Pippen Jersey . A little more than one year after missing a last-second tip-in that would have given the Wolverines a share of the Big Ten regular-season title, the 6-foot-8 forward scored on a layup with 7. Dwyane Wade Jersey . For the Miami Heat, that was outstanding news. LeBron James scored the last of his 32 points on a layup that put Miami up for good with 11. www.authenticbullsauthority.com/kris-dunn-bulls-jersey-c-25/. And thats about it. After the Salukis 73-65 loss at Murray State on Tuesday night, Hinson called his players "uncoachable," "a bunch of mamas boys" and compared the disciplining of his young team to housebreaking a puppy. Custom Chicago Bulls Jerseys . Tony Parker had 33 points and nine assists and San Antonio never trailed in a resounding 116-92 victory over Portland, bullying the younger Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Chicago Bulls Jerseys . Toronto ended an 0-4-0 skid with Sundays shootout win over visiting New Jersey, but the club could have a difficult time making it two victories in a row tonight. The Maple Leafs have dropped three straight and 11 of the last 12 regular- season meetings against Boston overall and the Bruins have claimed six straight in Beantown.There is no trophy for finishing fourth in the Premier League. Just ask Arsenal fans. However, Arsene Wenger has repeatedly told anyone willing to listen that finishing in that spot is more important than winning a cup competition. Of course, he would say that. The Gunners have not won a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup but have qualified for the Champions League for 16 years in a row. For many years, Arsenal finishing in the top four should not have been considered a success. Last March, however, Wengers men lost 2-1 at White Hart Lane to fourth-placed Tottenham and trailed their North London rivals by seven points with ten games to spare. Spurs would go on to falter, while Arsenal hit top gear, going on to maintain their qualification record for Europes elite club competition. Andre Villas-Boas team finished fifth, one point behind Arsenal for the second straight year. Over 38 matches the margin was as slim as it was painful. Tottenham became the first team in Premier League history to get to 72 points and not finish in the top four. The 1.89 points per game was their most successful season point-wise since 1967. Yet, nobody knew or cared. They had finished outside the top four, missed out on the Champions League and were about to lose their best player in Gareth Bale. Bales brilliance last season made him virtually irreplaceable. In the 17 Premier League games he scored in last season Tottenhams record was 14 wins, two draws and one loss. He was that important. However, under the guidance of new technical director Franco Baldini, Spurs had a fabulous summer in the transfer market, spending over 100 million pounds on Roberto Soldado, Etienne Capoue, Paulinho, Vlad Chiriches, Nacer Chadli, Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen. None of those players were Bale, but Bale was winning Tottenham matches last season which regularly featured players such as Scott Parker, Tom Huddlestone, Clint Dempsey and Benoit Assou-Ekotto. "We are stronger than the previous year, we had problems last year when we had a couple or replaced some key players, now we have quality in depth," said Villas-Boas after a win over Norwich earlier this season. Quality in depth has not led to an improvement so far. The 2013/14 season was supposed to be a season where Spurs fans wouldnt be reminded of the loss of Bale. Sixteen games into the Premier League season and the White Hart Lane faithful are still waiting to move on. If their Premier League campaign took a wrong turn in a recent 6-0 thumping at Man City, it officially went off the rails on Sunday when they were humiliated 5-0 at home to Liverpool. "This is a game all about the brilliance of Liverpool," preached the commentator at the conclusion of the match, and although Brendan Rodgers side performed very well, the harsh reality for Villas-Boas was his side were absolutely pathetic. Sure, Luis Suarez scored at least one goal, of his two, that few players in the game could have scored, Jordan Hendersons runs from deep terrorized Tottenhams makeshift back four and Paulinhos red card at 2-0 didnt help, but anyone who could make a claim that Tottenham didnt deserve to lose by five goals would be missing the point. They were outclassed in all departments by a Liverpool team who last season won just one game from 12 against the top six. It was an alarming defeat that even his admirers struggled to back him after. It was a minority group growing quieter by the week. By Monday morning, when he was sacked, few felt it was the wrong decision. You see, the 36-year-old does not endear himself to others. Publicly, this season he attacked his own fans, his own players and the media. When he said his team needed to be ashamed of themselves following the loss at Manchester City those in his camp could have said the language barrier may have been to blame for a misguided, harsh attack on his players. However, when he took on the teams supporters following a home win against Hull City there was nothing for his backers to hide behind. "This victory belongs to the players, they did it themselves, playing in a very difficult atmosphere, with almost no support coming. We have a wonderful set of fans but I am pretty sure they can do better and they know they can do better." It was the sort of quote, Jose Mourinho wouldnt have even got away with. It was a remarkable statement from a man who has had been at the club for less than 18 months, and achieved nothing as a manager in England. A win in the league cup a few days later, against Hull again, apparently, according to Villas-Boas, saw the fans get back to the level the manager demanded. However, football fans have long memories and the manager had picked on the wrong group. His next target was the media. After drawing 2-2 in the week, following the loss to Man City, he said: "the pressure this week was aggressive and agenda driven, (I am) very fortunate to have a group of players who responded in this manner to show the unity of the group." There is little doubt that some writers, and radio personalities, in England did not believe Villas-Boas is good enough to manage Tottenham. However, targeting certain individuals for things they wrote, online and in the newspaper, showed a touchy, oversensitive side from Villass-Boas at a time when he needed to stay away from the headlines.dddddddddddd He is not a man blessed with the charisma of Mourinho - very few are - but in his media interviews, through the directness of his answers, comes confidence and a self-assurance that would point towards not caring what others think. Yet, the current court of public opinion is England, a country, yet to be convinced by a man who Chelsea fired less than a season into the job, and easily influenced by what pundits and writers have to say. It is a battle that Villas-Boas, who was hired, for a reason, to take charge of two huge clubs in England before he turned 35, could only win by proving himself with his team. And that is where he needed to turn, to his players, to find the vindication he so clearly needed. However, the players, bankrolled by Daniel Levy, and trusted by Baldini, to deliver, so far did not perform anywhere close to the level Tottenham require and thats why Villas-Boas has lost his job. The nonsense in the media, making him bigger than the club, certainly contributed to it but ultimately he didnt get the best out of the players and the way they were humiliated at home to Liverpool is sure to send thoughts of doubt into the players mind about their manager. Once that happens, a change is necessary. Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was signed to excel behind a high back line but he repeatedly made poor judgements coming off his line and has costed the team a number of goals already this season. The 6-0 loss at the Etihad embarrassed the incredibly high line their defence play with and they were able to take seven points from a possible nine following that when they sat deeper, yet they returned to that style against Liverpool and were badly exposed in that area again. It is clear Capoue and Michael Dawson have no understanding together but the fact the manager decided that approach at the start, and stuck with it throughout the game, leaves many to question his tactical acumen. Surely, Capoue, covering for many injuries at the centre back position, would have been helped by playing closer to his goalkeeper and keeping Suarez in front of him more. Further up the pitch confusion remained. Against Manchester United, Spurs started, and finished with, three central midfielders for the first time, but Paulinhos inclusion, alongside Sandro and Moussa Dembele, was merely to play off the front striker, pushing the wingers slightly deeper in a formation that could be labelled 4-4-1-1. That is how he began the match against Liverpool, but by the time Paulinho was sent off, he had gone from being the most attack-minded central midfielder to the deepest holding midfielder behind Lewis Holtby and Chadli, after Sandro left through injury and the ineffective Dembele was substituted. Paulinho is one of the clubs best players and his manager needed to decide whether he is best suited as an attacking midfielder, like he played at Corinthians, or as a defensive midfielder, sitting deeper and making occasional runs forward, like he does for Brazil. Spurs could have played a midfield three the way Liverpool did - having one holder and two runners in front of him - but that requires their wide players to perform and this season this has not been a strong point for Tottenham. In Soldado, they have signed a player who scored all of his La Liga goals last season in the penalty box. He needs service. He is certainly culpable for the clubs issues in front of goal as well, but Villas-Boas system did not get the best out of his wide players with many cutting in too often, and those staying out wide delivering far too many poor crosses. It is easy to point to the many shots on goal and the brilliant performances of David De Gea and Tim Krul, in particular, to deny them in recent matches but there is a glaring issue with their unity in attack. Too many goals have come from long-range shots, errors by their opponents or penalty kicks and too few have come from moves created by themselves. The Villas-Boas high defensive line has some strengths but the fact is he has just 22 clean sheets in 81 Premier League games as a manager. Games come thick and fast this time of year and we are less than two weeks away from the Premier League season being half over. Villas-Boas ran out of time to find a system and style of play that can get the best out of his players. On Sunday he disagreed, saying: "I do not need to convince anybody, our run in the other competitions have been magnificent, our form in the Premier League is not there but our ambition to win trophies is still the same, the ambition to qualify for the Champions League is still the same." It turned out beating up on the likes of Aston Villa, Hull (on penalties), Anzhi, Tromso and some team called Sheriff meant little at this time. A trophy for the fans would be great but at the moment many of those matches have become an inconvenience where the form simply does not translate to the league. Finishing fifth last season, and not fourth, denied Villas-Boas a real European theatre to perform, allowing him time to get over any issues he has domestically. There is no trophy for finishing fourth in the Premier League. But there is little doubt it offers a manager real security. Just ask Arsene Wenger. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '